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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- A dominant defense allowed 16th-ranked Mississippi State notch its best start in 55 years and hand Southeastern Conference upstart Vanderbilt an unpleasant dose of reality in a 42-14 rout. Ranked sixth in the nation coming into this contest, Mississippi State's defense held the Commodores scoreless for the first 40 minutes. The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC West) have surrendered just 42 points this season en route to their first five-win start since 1944. Wayne Madkin threw two touchdown passes and backup fullback Rod Gibson -- who did not carry the ball in last weekend's 17-0 victory over South Carolina -- had a pair of short touchdown runs for the Bulldogs. Gibson's two-yard TD gave Mississippi State a commanding 32-0 lead early in the third quarter. "The game came down to early execution," Bulldogs coach Jackie Sherrill said. "Our defense was rushing a little and we realized we needed to increase the pressure." Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2 SEC East) was off to its best start in 15 years before being shut down by the Bulldogs. The Commodores had registered 102 points in winning their previous three games, scoring 30 or more in three straight outings for the first time since 1987. "I'd say that brought us back down to earth," Vanderbilt coach Woody Widenhofer said. "Mississippi State has the toughest defense we've played so far. They are very aggressive." Vanderbilt's Rodney Williams ran for 20 yards for a touchdown with 3:01 left in the third quarter. Its only other points came 73 seconds later from the defense as linebacker Jamie Winborn scored on a six-yard fumble return. Madkin completed 13-of-22 passes for 257 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown toss to Kelvin Love during Mississippi State's 19-point second quarter. "We had to make the right plays today and put ourselves in a good situation to win," Madkin said. "We did that." Counterpart Greg Zolman was under constant pressure and had his worst performance of the season. He finished 12-of-22 for a season-low 109 yards and two interceptions. He also was sacked six times. "This is easily the best team we've faced so far," Zolman said. "They've got great athletes on both sides of the ball." Mississippi State, a loser to national champion Tennessee in last season's SEC title game, took a 6-0 lead just 1:54 into the game as Gibson scored from three yards out. He had eight carries for 36 yards. Starting fullback Justin Griffith had a two-yard TD run early in the second quarter and Madkin's pass on the conversion attempt fell incomplete as the Bulldogs settled for a 12-0 advantage. Griffith managed just 17 yards on 13 carries, but Dontae Walker contributed 63 on just five and Chris Rainey ran six times for 44. Just 56 seconds after Scott Westerfield booted a 47-yard field goal, Madkin hooked up with Love for the touchdown that made it 22-0 six minutes before halftime. Westerfield, who had three field goals, added a 34-yarder seconds before intermission. The Commodores were held to 158 total yards, including just 32 rushing in as many carries. "We were a lot deeper than they were, and it showed because they were tired in the fourth quarter," Mississippi State defensive tackle Ellis Wyms said. The Bulldogs, who were playing on the road for the first time this season, have won eight straight regular-season games.
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